Francis Diano, a physical therapist and NYSportsMed's running director, kept an eye on everything from my arm swing to my hip positioning to the way my feet landed on the ground. Then, Diano and I looked over video footage from my run, and he talked me through some easy things I could do to increase my running efficiency—and decrease my risk of injury. For example, I was surprised to hear that my hips tilt a bit too much when I run—but very happy to hear it now, so I can take steps to correct it. Diano suggested I focus on engaging my core mid-run—and doing some extra strengthening exercises outside of my running routine. This type of feedback can be super-beneficial for every runner.

If you can't sign up for a professional analysis, hop on a treadmill and have a friend video you from the front, side, and behind. Then, roll the footage and note whether your form is in check with these form pointers from Diano:

Francis Diano

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Check #1: Stride Length See how my foot is landing on the ground right underneath my body in the photo above? That's a good sign. "Ensuring that your foot lands directly under your center of gravity minimizes the stress on your hamstrings and knee," says Diano. If it ends up too far in front of your torso, you're likely over-striding. That makes you less efficient because it creates an uneven distribution of weight and stress along your lower extremities and in your hips, forcing your stabilizer muscles in your hips to work harder.

Francis Diano

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Check #2: Arm Swing You can actually generate a whole lot of extra power through your arm swing, says Diano. "An efficient arm swing maximizes your momentum as you're being propelled forward—helping your save energy." Maximize that effect by gently holding your hands in a fist. As you're running, visualize that you're placing your hands in your pockets and driving your elbow back. The bend in your elbows should be somewhere between 60 to 90 degrees, meaning your forearms should point slightly down towards the ground. As you can see in this photo, my bend is about 82 degrees, so I'm doing A-okay!

Check #3: Pronation Relax your ankle and allow for your foot to pronate (as in, roll out to the outside) by just five to 10 degrees as it strikes the ground. "People always talk about pronation like it's a bad thing," says Diano. "But the truth is, slight pronation is the ankles' way of dispersing impact—and is something you want to allow and not overcorrect." Diano says my pronation in this image is just fine. "The image shows that you are pronating approximately eight to 10 degrees along your left foot, which is a good amount," says Diano.

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Francis Diano

Check #4: Landing Force Land on a firm and strong leg so that it's almost locked out, but not entirely. There should be a slight bend in your knee, but your leg muscles should engage before your foot hits the ground, ready to absorb that impact. This minimizes the stress on your knee, warding off runners’ knee and other issues. As you can see from this image, I'm doing well form-wise here too!

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Francis Diano

Check #5: Hip Angle Okay, this was my personal issue! "Keeping your hips level as you run is key to preventing irritation along your IT Band—and major issues later on," says Diano. "As your foot hits the ground, focus on maintaining a strong core and firm and leveled hips." Try running on a treadmill in front of a mirror, and watch your hips so you can visually associate what leveled versus non-leveled looks and feels like. See how the yellow line shows that my hips are not level? The pink line is what I should aim for.

One More Running Form Tip Focus on propelling your body forward, rather than up. This reduces vertical oscillation (a.k.a. bounce), and minimizes impact stress on your lower body, says Diano. It also helps you be more efficient since you won't waste energy with that upward motion, making your run more fluid—and faster! Drive your elbows back as if you were using them to push yourself forward, and try really engaging your glutes as you extend your legs to push off and propel forward, suggests Diano.

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